Summer Party 2011

Saturday, July 23, 2011 we met for our first summer party. We are very grateful to the organizers, chefs, and everybody who attended and contributed with food, but most important of all with their gaiety and desire to have fun. We played table tennis, ate, swam in the pool and the beach, ate, talked, ate, danced, ate, square danced. We celebrated summer's birthdays and we all had a great tiem. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMpFgs9Vb24&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Summer Exhibitions

San Juan Squares took a recess from class during the summer. Our last class was held on May 30, 2011. Before the recess we held two exhibitions and during the recess we held two more exhibitions. We were also interviewed at a radio show.

• May 20, 2011 four of us participated at Noche de Poesía y Bohemia, at Amadeus Restaurant. We did two line dances and our participation was recorded as part of the Festival Mundial de la Palabra y la Poesía, hosted by Italy. Our fellow dancers also impressed the audience reciting poetry and singing. Kudos to them!
• On May 22, 2011 we did a square and line dance exhibition at Restaurant Triana in Old San Juan. The public was very enthusiastic and joined us for line dances. Some of our fellow square dancers also did some Sevillanas and Spanish dances. Videos and photos of this activity can be seen at : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHdtuYrRWBE
• May 26, 2011 we were interviewed on the radio show "Cita con las Artes", at Radio Atenas, Manatí. We talked about what square dancing is, its philosophy and history, and about square dancing in Puerto Rico. Since this show is also transmitted via web cam on the internet, four of us demonstrated several line dances and some modified square dances, from a mini square. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVH8TtdkZVU
• July 2 and July 3 San Juan Squares dance exhibitions on four different times, at the Cattleman's BBQ Contest in San Juan. Videos available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUXtYARjO3k and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbY2ASzA3f0 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GhUoS1gegM
• July 14, 2011 six of us did a line dance exhibition at Noche de Poesía y Bohemia, this time commemorating Perú's 190 years of independence. We did only line dances due to space limitations. Two of our dancers participated by singing and reciting a poem. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6cEnyGJQDA

New Basic Course

San Juan Squares is offering a new Basic course starting August 16, 2011 at the Summit Hills community center. This center is located at Olimpic St, which you can access from Ave Piñero (Ave Central). It is the second entrance after you pass Ave. San Patricio. (Enter by Paradise Pools). We meet from 6:00 to 8:00 PM every Tuesday to learn our basic steps.

Please be on time, as we start promptly at 6:00. Bring your dancing shoes and expect to have fun!

Additional information please phone 787-647-8810 or e mail us at mcuretpr@yahoo.com

Our Friend Bob Pope

2011 started on a sad note. On January 10, 2011 we lost one of our dear friends, Bob Pope, who at 93, had been a member of San Juan Squares since 1975. He was also a caller for quite a few years, and he was instrumental in keeping the club going for many years. Bob stopped calling several years ago, after sustaining damage to his vocal chords. He continued to dance until February 2010, when his physical condition no longer allowed him to do so. Nevertheless, he continued to attend Monday night class, and he was our resident expert, providing advice and guidance on all square matters.

We were very fortunate to have met him, and he helped us become better persons. We miss him and we'll always remember him. He was a role model for us to emulate.

We have posted several videos and photos of his dances with us at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZejR5-tCsc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ook6lj2diFg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RchYMvN64WI

San Juan Squares held a memorial ceremony on February 7, 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Yct2O2LBr8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4BR_dbLiOw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIstVgZabYY

Exhibitions 2011

San Juan Squares has performed several exhibitions during 2011.

• On January 15, 2011 we danced at a private residence in Cataño. To see videos for this event go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUJXUyUAZaM
• On February 16, 2011 we had an exhibition at the English speaking chapter of AARP at Isla Verde. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwULm8fyTSo
• On March 22, 2011 it was Cowboy Night at the Caballeros de Colón, Isla Verde, with the San Juan Squares. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR8p2AghuX8 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MHETsPYDzA will direct you to photos and videos of this activity.
• On March 10, 2011 we did a dance exhibition at the Veterans Administration Hospital celebrating Patient Safety Week.
• On April 16, 2011 at the San Juan Community Library San Juan Squares danced as part of the celebration of National Library Week. Photos and videos are available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb86uNovTbs and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_AKzHRhf6U

Nueva Directiva

El pasado lunes 11 de abril San Juan Squares eligió su nueva directiva. Agradecemos al comité de nominaciones por su excelente trabajo, y a los personas electas a los diferentes puestos.

Ya la nueva directiva celebró su primera reunión y esbozó su plan de trabajo para este año. Su meta principal es desarrollar nuevos maestros y "callers" para continuar ofreciendo clases a la comunidad.

La nueva directiva está constituída por:

1. Presidenta: Mariel Curet
2. 1^er V.P.: José Malavé
3. 2^do V.P.: Troy Fields
4. Tesorera: Elsa Santiesteban
5. Sub. Tes: Rosa I. Cintrón
6. Secretaria: Mary Jo Rosado
7. Sub-Sec.: Edna Droz
8. Rel. Pub.: Sandra Rodriguez
9. Pasado Pres: José Julio Díaz

Les deseamos éxito en sus gestiones.

New Basic Group

During the month of March 2011 we were able to offer our basic course from a second community center.

This one is located at Olimpic Street, Summit Hills, San Juan PR.
It allows our new students to learn the steps in a very calm and relaxed environment.

You can watch some videos of these new classes at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKUKFOx8BAc, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-joEAxicmNk

Visitors From California

February 28, 2011 we were fortunate to receive the visit of fellow square dancers from San José, California. Our four new friends, who are vacationing in Puerto Rico after their cruise, stayed throughout our class and danced with us.

They are also members of the Committee to Promote Square Dancing and they shared ideas on how we can attract more dancers to our club. We are very happy and excited that they visited with us and we hope to maintain contact with them. We invite you to visit their website to promote square dancing, www.c-p-s-d.org and the website for their club www.rockinjokers.com .

We also celebrated this quarter's birthdays. Congratulations to all!

For some videos of this visit, go to www.youtube.com and search "sjsquare".

Back to School January 2011

San Juan Squares started the new year 2011 with a new course of the Square Dance Basic Course. New students have already learned the very basic steps and are able to dance a few numbers. José Julio has been taking care of the new students while Mariel has continued practice with graduates. We have also had different dancers (Gloria, Lorraine, Karlos), direct the line dances at the beginning of the class. They are all doing a great job.

Dance Exhibitions

San Juan Squares have been very active through 2010. In addition to the weekly classes, we have had several exhibitions throughout the year.

• June 10 we danced at Hogar La Providencia, San Juan.
• July 3 we danced at the BBQ contest held at Centro Convenciones, Miramar.
• July 26 we danced at the children's summer camp at the Methodist Church at Rio Piedras Heights.
• On August 3 we danced for Programa Renacer Dorado at Bayamón.
• On August 14 we danced at the Central High Class Reunion.
• On October 3 we danced at the Teresa Jornet's home in Rio Piedras.
• On October 28 we danced at Hogar Carmelitano in Rio Piedras.
• On November 13 we danced at the Margarita Janer's Class Reunion in Guaynabo.
• On December 11 we danced for the AARP's Hato Rey chapter.

In addition to all these dances, we were interviewed and our class of June 28, 2010 recorded for a segment in the Cultura Viva TV show, broadcast on local Channel 6, WIPR TUTV during the month of August.

You can see videos of these activities at www.youtube.com, search for "sjsquare".

Christmas 2010

San Juan Squares held a graduation ceremony on December 6, 2010. Our new dancers are all doing great. Congratulations!!

The Christmas Party was held in conjunction with the BaileTerapia ballroom dance group on December 13, 2010.

To watch videos of this activity go to www.youtube.com and look for sjsquare and there you will find 4 videos of this party.